Filmmaker Jeff Nichols (“Take Shelter,” "Mud") might have been one of the unlikely writers of “Aquaman” (or at least one version of the script) and while there were rumors he might direct (though it sounds like James Wan will helm now), he’s pretty much out of the running as his next project has been announced.
Nichols will direct “Loving” starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga (E4‘s “Misfits,” and ABC‘s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), a drama inspired by the documentary “The Loving Story” directed by Nancy Buirski (here’s our review) which was about a racially-charged criminal trial and a heart-rending mixed-race love story during the turbulent Civil Rights era. Here’s the official synopsis:
Richard and Mildred Loving were married in June of 1958. As a result, authorities broke into their home, arrested them, and they were sentenced to a year in the state penitentiary. This sentence was suspended on the condition that they be exiled from the state of Virginia. Richard and Mildred would spend the next nine years fighting to get home. All of this, because Richard was a white man and Mildred a black woman. LOVING is a story about marrying the one you want and finding the one you need.
“I was struck by the simplicity of the Lovings’ story, and I hope to make this a painfully beautiful film,” Nichols said in a statement. Joel Edgerton will also be seen in Nichols’ still-under-wraps “Midnight Special,” which is said to be a John Carpenter-esque story about a father and son who go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers. It’s currently set for a November 25th release date, but considering it’s a Warner Bros. film and the studio just dated “Creed” for the same weekend, expect the film to vacate that date or get kicked into 2016.